Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au
“Inhumane and disgusting’ Unit 18 youth detention
The youth wing of an adult prison where a teenager fatally harmed himself has been described as a “war zone” by a nurse who worked there. April 10, 2024 A nurse who tried to save an Indigenous teen after he harmed himself in the youth wing of an adult prison has told an inquest the unit was […]
Unit 18 ‘inhumane’ and a ‘war zone’ before teen’s death
Conditions inside a youth wing of an adult prison where a teenager fatally harmed himself have been described by a nurse who worked there as a “war zone”. April 10, 2024 A nurse who tried to save an Indigenous teen after harmed himself in the youth wing of an adult prison has told an inquest […]
Senior officer when teen harmed breached lawful order
An officer overseeing an adult prison’s youth wing the night an Indigenous teenager fatally harmed himself had breached a lawful order but remained on duty. April 9. 2024 A senior officer in charge of a troubled youth wing in an adult prison on the night an Indigenous teenager fatally harmed himself had been found to […]
Junior prison staffer forced into senior officer role
A probationary correctional worker has told an inquest that she was coerced into working as a senior officer in the troubled youth wing of an adult prison. April 9, 2024 A probationary corrections worker had to fill in as the senior officer in the troubled youth wing of an adult prison where an Indigenous teenager […]
Probationary guard worked as Unit 18 senior officer
A probationary correctional worker has told an inquest that she was coerced into working as a senior officer in the troubled youth wing of an adult prison. April 9, 2024 A probationary corrections worker had to fill in as the senior officer in the troubled youth wing of an adult prison where an Indigenous teenager […]
Indigenous teen’s death in detention avoidable: guard
The guard who found a teen with a self-inflicted injury in an adult prison’s youth wing has told an inquest the death was tragic and could have been avoided. April 8, 2024 An Indigenous teen’s death after he harmed himself in detention was a preventable tragedy, the corrections officer who found him in his cell has told […]
Unit 18 detainees’ threats to self-harm an ‘epidemic’
The guard who found a teen with a self-inflicted injury in an adult prison’s youth wing has told his inquest that detainee threats to self-harm were an epidemic. April 8, 2024 Threats to self-harm had “spiralled out of control” and were an “epidemic” in a troubled youth wing of an adult prison, an inquest into […]
Unit 18 corrections staff watching movies on the job
The corrections officer who found a teen with self-inflicted harm in an adult prison’s youth wing says staff regularly watched movies on the job to stay awake. April 8, 2024 Corrections staff watched movies while detainees were locked in their cells in the troubled youth wing of an adult prison, an inquest into the first […]
Guards didn’t want to work at ‘powder keg’ Unit 18
The corrections officer who found an Indigenous teen with self-inflicted harm in an adult prison’s youth wing says the unit was “set up to fail”. April 8, 2024 The unliveable youth wing of an adult prison was a ‘pariah’, chaotic and set up to fail, an inquest into the first juvenile to die in detention […]